Sunday, 4 March 2012

Carrot apple cake (grain and processed sugar free)

After my paleo muffins (failure) and primal pumpkin pie (failure), I vowed to never make a 'healthy' dessert again. Though today, two weeks into my grain and sugar free diet, I decided that there MUST be a healthy dessert recipe out there. So, after some searching around the Internet I made the grain free and processed sugar free cake above. It was not a failure. Surprise surprise. There is hope in my world of grain and sugar free baking after all.

Two weeks into my 'diet' (it is not really a diet since I hardly eat grains or sugar anyway...only on weekends when I bake):

I am feeling good. My digestive system is very happy:)

Honey on yoghurt is too sweet for me - am I sick?

If I have the urge for something sweet, I eat a tea spoon of organic coconut oil. It is 92% saturated fat, rich in lauric acid and after just a tea spoon,I am full for hours!

I lost weight :|

I have organised a grain and sugar filled afternoon tea for March 25th....I am scared!

Back to the cake...... The plan was to make a banana carrot cake. I was going to use a defrosted, frozen banana. I peeled it and then decided I did not want to make banana cake anymore. The banana was all slimy, had a strange smell and tasted a little weird.... Have any of you frozen bananas in their peels before? Are they supposed to be like this?

Therefore, carrot apple cake was born. The mashed up stewed apples make up for the missing moist bananas.

I was so surprised by the moistness and fluffiness of this cake. The failure paleo muffins I made previously were like rocks. This carrot apple cake however, was not suitable for breaking windows. Note, the cake not overly fluffy; you're not going to end up with a sponge cake or anything similar.

The cake was sweet enough, but could have used some more sultanas for increased juiciness. Next time, I would also add more mixed spice into the cake as the spiciness is too subtle.

The cake is also very filling, so you only require a little slice. The cake also reminded me of hot cross buns, most likely as a result of the mixed spice. I am now pondeirng whether it is possible to make grain and sugar free hot cross buns.

Oh and you must enjoy the cake with butter:)

I am looking forward to trying some more grain and sugar free recipes. Yay!

Before I forget....

Ask the audience

Should I go to a vegetarian speed dating event? Bear in mind I am not vegetarian...or vegan...or looking for a date. I just want to make some new friends and practice my hand shakes. Is that ok? The description says it is for single people who are interested in or are vegan/vegetarian. I like vegetables very much. Does that count?

It looks really nice and soft which is always good for restrictive diet cakes (my mind immediately goes towards rocks!). And good for you for sticking to it and for losing weight and feeling better! :)

On the Veggie event:Go for it! You'll meet all types of new people! Just avoid the bacon word. Also Paleo might not agree so much with a group of people who make a point of not eating meat.

On the cake:Looks absolutely gorgeous! For the cake if you want it a little fluffier try replacing 1 TBSP of the oil with an egg. Separate the eggs. Mix the yolk in at the normal time, whisk the egg white into peaks. Fold the whites into the batter 1/3rd at a time just before baking. But honestly I wouldn't, the cake looks lovely and moist, like a gooey chocolate cake.

On the banana:People generally freeze bananas peeled! The skin goes black in the freezer and is impossible to peel off afterwards. The water in the plant cells expand when frozen and burst the cell. The broken cells then turn black.

****Hotly Spiced****This is the only grain free thing that has really turned out well. But....grain cakes still taste better, the texture is nicer :(

****Tom****Hi Tom, thank you for visiting. Yeah, the event, I will not go. I like the food chain too much and will most likely mention bacon and how great all the fat tastes;)I found the banana very easy to peel...it just was all slimy and had a strange smell:|

Hi Agnes:)Will need to train myself to get over the weirdness. I still have two in the freezer which I do not want to throw away.Oh sorry to hear about the appearance of your cake but the main thing is that it tasted great:)I had far too much sugar today...I managed 3.5 weeks without sugar. Meh, good enough. I only have it on weekends...I don't smoke or drink, so it's really not that bad...right? :)